[9] Robert Christgau wrote that "the switch from Brian Jackson's supportive groove to Carl Cornwell's elliptical horn charts adds intellectual and historical weight to the songs that merely say good things as well as those that put them pungently.

"[11] The Boston Globe thought that "Scott-Heron has shaken off the pop coating and built his arrangements carefully, usually around one dominant instrument.

"[6] The Citizens' Voice called Real Eyes "a powerful statement by one of today's most significant performers.

"[14] AllMusic wrote: "Scott-Heron's love of jazz serves him well on 'A Legend in His Own Mind' and the smoky 'Combinations', but make no mistake: Real Eyes is an R&B album more than anything.

"[10] In a retrospective article, The Wire thought that "much of it sounds like outtakes from Stevie Wonder's albums of the period—even words seem to desert [Scott-Heron], falling away into disengaged rhetoric or weak personal concerns.